Fast Break: Celtics capture 14th straight

Posted By
Ben Rohrbach
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December 22, 2010 @ 10:11 pm
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Despite a poor shooting night, the Celtics[1] held on for an 84-80 victory over the 76ers at the Garden on Wednesday night (recap[2]), stretching their NBA-best winning streak to 14 games heading into a Christmas Day showdown in Orlando.

The Celtics made 10-of-12 free throws in the final four minutes — including a pair by Ray Allen[3] with 5.6 seconds remaining — and Kevin Garnett[4]blocked an Andre Iguadola shot with 14 seconds left to preserve an 82-80 lead, as the C’s held on to improve their Eastern Conference-leading record to 23-4. Allen scored a game-high 22 points, while Shaquille O’Neal[5](13 points, 9 rebounds), Garnett (12 points, 7 rebounds) and Pierce (11 points) all reached double figures.

Elton Brand totaled 16 points and 12 rebounds for Philadelphia before fouling out in the final minutes.

WHAT WENT RIGHT

Relying on defense: It’s the staple of their success. Even when the Celtics aren’t shooting well, they can still play defense. They held the 76ers to 80 points on 43.1 percent shooting from the field (28-of-65), they forced 13 turnovers and everybody crashed the boards, as seven different Celtics had at least four boards.

Allen’s hot start: While most of his teammates struggled from the floor to start the game, Allen scored 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting in the first quarter, helping the Celtics establish an early 23-17 lead. In all, Allen netted his game-high 22 points on 8-of-17 shooting. He also made 5-of-6 free throws, including the game-clinching pair.

Cameo appearances: Off the bench, Von Wafer[6] had his best performance of the season, scoring five points on a nifty up-and-under layup and big second-half 3-pointer. Avery Bradley[7] showed a glimpse of his talent, picking Louis Williams’ pocket and converting on the other end. And Marquis Daniels[8] totaled four points, four rebounds and five assists — including a nice alley-oop to O’Neal.

WHAT WENT WRONG

A rare poor shooting night: The Celtics aren’t used to shooting less than 50 percent from the field. In fact, they entered Wednesday night’s game against the 76ers shooting 51.2 percent as a team for the season.

However, against Philadelphia, they shot just 17-of-46 (37.0 percent) in the first half — scoring only 38 points and entering halftime with a six-point deficit at home against a team with an 11-17 record. For the game, the Celtics shot just 38.8 percent (31-of-80).

Foul trouble: Nate Robinson[9], Paul Pierce[10]and Kevin Garnett had to sit for extended periods in the second half as they all picked up their fourth fouls in the third quarter. O’Neal got into some foul trouble of his own in the first half, as he sat out the last three minutes of the half.

After all was said and done, the Celtics’ reserves played a combined 38 minutes, and given the state of their bench due to the number of injuries that have piled up, that wasn’t going to translate into positive results.

Technical difficulties: In the third quarter, Garnett and Pierce each picked up technical fouls following calls against the Celtics — adding insult to injury. Doc Rivers[11] wasn’t too happy with the officiating either, as he had a pointed discussion with referee Scott Foster midway through the third quarter. After a minute, Foster walked away from the conversation, shrugging his shoulders and shaking his head.